Info on some new Vista preinstalled models and new pricing

Well, I just thought everyone would appreciate this little update from Asus. We had some new models come in today, and there is some important information that effects all of us.

1. G1 - coming with vista home premium as of today, and no will also have a l ight scribe dvd burner... Price went up $100 to $1899.

2. G2 - vista home premium model won't be in till the middle of the month, but it's price is also going up $100 to $1999. Anyone wanting this model and not picking up the current one is crazy.... especially since you get xp mce PLUS the free vista home premium upgrade. This will also get a light scribe drive, but saving $100 and getting two legal OS' is nice as well.... that's up to you I guess

3. W7jp - they're coming in with vista business this week.

4. V1jp / W2pb (WSXGA+) / W5fm / R1f / F3jp / A8js / A7c- updated to vista around 3rd week of February.

5. W2pb (WUXGA) / A8jr (128mb x2300) - updated to vista first week of March.

6. S6f / R2h UMPC - neither have a planned vista update at ALL yet.

There are NO other changes to speak of.

 

Wow, the A8Jr only has 128mb onboard vRAM? Thats disappointing...

I don't get it, the only thing it has over the current A8JS/A8JP is the DX10 gfx chip, and even that doesn't have 256mb of vram. Whats the point of it?

 

Any links to sites where I can buy the new G1 with Vista pre-installed?

 

Well the A8jr is also going to be $1250 instead of $1600 like the A8js.

A8jr:
$1249 USD
T5500 (1.66ghz)
14" WXGA
1GB x 1 DDR2 667
128mb ATI x2300
120GB/5400RPM HDD
Bluetooth

So the A8js also has a higher resolution screen and faster cpu.

As far as the G1 w/ vista pre-installed... humm... did I say we just got them?

 

ok, sorry sorry.

I just did not see the price jump on your webpage.

 

Maybe proportable since he posted it.

 

Yeah, some of our pages are regular .htm, so unless your browser does autochecks for new pages, it won't adjust... but the product pages themselves are .aspx... so those update everytime the page is hit.

 

thanks for forgiving my newness. i'll probably end up buying one from your site in the coming monthhhhhhhhhhhh

 

Oh no, I'm laid back today... it's cool.

 

Any updates on the V2J, Justin? I see the VX2 and the V2J info were removed from your site >.>

 

Are you sure the A8Jr is coming only with a WXGA display (1280 × 800)?

All A8J-series laptops supported WXGA+ (1440 × 900) so far.

 

Do you mean the A8Jr? The A8Js already comes with a 1440x900 resolution

 

Yes, sorry. I mean the A8Jr.

 

I said the A8jr is going to have a 1280 x 800 screen... that's what today's update included... am I sure... of course not, but then again I don't really care until they come in either... we'll see, but I guess the news could only be "better", but for the price it's still a good value, so my guess is that they are correct in their spec.

In regards to the V2 and Vx2, a couple things there...

1. with all the new vista models over lapping the xp models this month, we decided to take down any advanced orders or previews we had in place.

2. apparently Asus has a ton of Core Duo Vx1 stock and they JUST got in a bunch of Core 2 Duo Vx1's.... they want to sell them. Asus called and attempted to strong arm us yesterday to get us to take down the Vx2 preview.... That really pissed me off, but at time, it's not going to be out here in the states until late spring / early summer at best anyway. I only had it up for the benefit of those consumers that saw or hurt about it at CES... I just wanted to shake the BS that it would be a 14" and available in the US in February.... You're think the false words from Asus would do more to hurt current Vx1 and A8js/W7jp sales than anything else...... When I explain it'll be a 15.4" and available in June or later.... you'd think that would help them with their current marketing schemes.... whatever. Like I said, I didn't care and we took them down for the hell of it. I'm not sure if it was just karma biting them in the rear or what... but engadget seemed to get a hold of the same information from somewhere else. Perhaps Asus shouldn't have threatened us.... it's just a coincidence, I'm sure....

 

slightly off topic, but does anyone know if all of the Vista drivers for the G1 hardware are available from Asus's website? I've got a pre-Vista G1 and I'm considering upgrading.

So far not having drivers for all the Asus stuff (like the direct messenger) has held me back. If Vista is now preinstalled then I'm assuming they got working drivers for everything that worked on the XP laptops.

 

This Chinese source says the A8Jr will provide WXGA+ resolution. Since all A8J-series devices are equipped with WXGA+ displays, I believe the Chinese.

 

Late spring/early summer? No problem, just giving me more time to save up my $

May be by the time both arrive, i got enough $ for the VX2

 

There are like 200 possible configurations for every model Asus offers.... it's up to each market to buy or not buy, and if they buy, what version they want to bring in. The US office has been obsessed with price points for the last year and it's one reason all of the good people over there left.... they're thinking about sales instead of their product and it's begining to suck..... I don't for one minute believe I'm reading the wrong information..... I haven't been incorrect on much if anything over the last few years when it comes to stuff like this..... however Asus is certainly known for copy and pasting things and not realizing how important one little word or even letter can affect the perception of a model...

With that said, there is nothing about the configuration that makes me say - wait, that's out of place... If there were I would have double checked with Asus. Let me put it this way... if the unit had a T7200 and a 512mb x2300 and ran at $1600 right along with the A8js, I'd say there must be a mistake.... but from what I see, they're going after a different type of user. Either way it's nothing fantastic.... you won't see long threads about this model in the coming months, that's a given. The 128mb x2300 in itself doesn't make much sense... but perhaps I'm missing something.

 

No price change on the W7Jp then? Thats good to hear.

About the extra stock of Vx1's: Will there be any price reduction on them, and will they come with Vista preinstalled?

 

No news on the Vx1's.... all I know is that Asus is freaking out about selling them, otherwise they wouldn't have absolutely gone over the line asking for all information on the Vx2 to disappear. I doubt the price will go down because the Vx1's with the core duos are still $2,700 and coming with xp pro... they're good for the free vista business upgrade of course.

 

I wonder if Asus will let people purchase the V2 without the 3.5G option (I know I don't need it; it just doesn't warrant the ridiculous price). We'll see, I guess. All the notebook manufacturers have been very mysterious about their Santa Rosa lineup.

If you guys haven't heard already -

Edit - oops, wrong URL:

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/31/intel_socket_p_merom_due_may/

 

maybe if they'd listened to their customers and reps on configuration etc of the Vx1's and offered something worth having - worth the extra dollars - they wouldn't be sitting on a bunch of them .....

 

I would make a wild guess at yes. It was posted by one vendor here who talked to Asus that the V2 would be about $1800. And one a vendor's site (proportable?), the V2 was listed at, I think, $2300. So my thought was that it will be about $1800 w/o and $2300 with. Just detective work; no actual facts.

 

First of all, let's stay on topic. To end the argument.. the V2 was put up as a preview based a configuration that is likely.... and 3.5g built in is a $400-500 option... $400 cost - $500 at Sony on their SZ line.... still an expensive thing for someone that won't use it. However, it's a business travelers notebook, so it is something wanted or even needed by the type of person it's meant for. Now, I've been trying to convince Asus US to convince Taiwan that that the 3.5g should be a dealer installed item... Afterall, if it is as expensive as I pressume it to be, we'd open up the model to a much wide group of people and only have to import ONE model. Taiwan HATES allowing that and I don't know what sort of card it is... If it's actually part of the motherboard (which would be stupid, but likely - because I'm not sure there are any mini pci express 3.5g cards that are made yet), but if it is, then it has to be a factory option.... obviously.

Either way, our hands are sort of tied and we'll have to see what happens... I can say that I through my hand in the ring and expressed to them what my beliefs are in terms of how the V2 should be brought it, and backed that up with repsonses customers sent me and our sales team after viewing the preview I posted....